Cotham vs Redland Green

[Smoles]

Hi there all!

Happy New Year!

I am returning to Bristol with my family soon. We are trying to find the best area for us with a view to my daughter starting secondary school. I am hoping someone could give me some insight into experiences with Cotham School? Positive and negative? Also - Redland Green? House prices within the Redland catchment area seem to be very steep but we will make the sacrifice if the school is far better for our daughter.

Thank you! x x

I would also suggest that you look at Colstons Girls school for your daughter. All the above schools are (very) oversubscribed and Redland Green has a well defined (and smaller) catchment area than Cotham. CGS has a lottery admission system so where you live is less critical. For Y7 admission you express 3 preferences on the application form.
It depends on what you mean about the "best" school for your dd? What is she interested in etc.

Thank you so much for coming back to me. Yes - we were looking at Colston’s but seems like a lottery as to whether you get offered a place or not?

We are lucky as our daughter is bright and has a keen interest in reading. She is quite a sensitive yet eccentric soul so keen for her to be surrounded by friends who are accepting of different characters!

Colston Girls is one of the most over subscribed schools in the city and whilst you can slightly increase your chance of getting in by taking the language aptitude test there are still many many more girls applying than places.

Yes - I thought this might be the case with Colston’s

Bristol is tricky for secondary, I know lots who's children go out of the area, e.g. Bath, keynsham, etc from South Bristol this is doable. I know a few at Colstons and it's undoubtedly a good school but go on the aptitude test day and you will be depressed by how many girls are chasing such a few places, the same at Cathedral also there are some good independent schools, e.g. Live in a cheaper area and spend what you save on school fees

When will she start secondary? Applications for Y7 for 2018 have already closed so you'd be at the back of the queue no matter how close you moved.

We don't need to apply for a couple of years but I know how complicated it can be and don't want to have to move ever again!

I know a lot of parents say that Redland Green has very high drug usage due to the wealthy nature of the parents. Doesn't seem to bother a lot of people as its very close to a free private school as you can get.

Wow. I hadn't heard that. Does anyone have any opinions on cotham? Or Fairfield? The house prices around Redland seem ludicrous, and unaffordable for us.

Yes, I know someone with children at Redland Green and she says it's like Skins! Plus there seems to be a lot of pressure for results and the middle achievers can struggle. But it is a good school with very good results, though with an almost entirely middle class intake and lots of children being tutored it would be a surprise if it didn't.

Have you looked into Bristol Free School? It's fairly new and doesn't get the results of RGS but it has a broader mix of kids (and fewer being tutored) so wouldn't expect to. All those with children there seem very happy though.

Otherwise there are plenty of good private schools. We looked at houses in RGS catchment but felt that if we were going to overpay by £150-£200k for a house we'd rather spend the money on private school.

I will have a look at bristol free school. Thanks so much.

The problem I have is my parents will be helping with childcare for my youngest so need to stay local to them (whiteladies Road area) as they don't drive.

It's a minefield!

Plenty of the Free School catchment is easy to get to by bus from Whiteladies Rd. I love near BFS and there's a bus from the end of my street that goes to Whiteladies. Look at the routes for the 1 and 2 (possibly others too but they keep changing the numbers!).

the other option (if you are church goers), is St Mary Redcliffe. Results-wise its one of the best Secondary schools in Bristol, its very easy to get to being only a few minutes from Temple Meads. It has a mixed intake from all over Bristol and beyond but you will need to demonstrate you are regular attendees at Church.

I know a number of children at the school and whilst it is a normal state secondary school with all the usual problems its considered to be a good school.

Unfortunately we are not church goers. Do you know anything about cotham as a school? St. Andrews appeals to us as we love the park.

What did you do in the end? This year my daughter got a place at Cotham for September and we live about 3 km away.
We did not apply for Redland Green as they normally absorb all the intake from the area quite close to the school. Also, I reckoned between Cotham and Redland, in Cotham the intake is a lot more mixed and comes from further afield, while Redland is quite "private school", so if a school with mixed intake and more social issues achieves same results as the "posh" school, with private tutoring parents, the mixed school must be doing something well.